The circumscription of the lichenized ascomycete genus Icmadophila Trevis. in the family Icmadophilaceae Triebel was investigated. Sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region and large subunit of nuclear ribosomal DNA (nuLSU) were generated for the five Icmadophila species and additional members of Icmadophilaceae from the genera Dibaeis, Endocena, Knightiella, Siphula, Siphulella and Thamnolia. Phylogenetic analyses indicate that three Icmadophila species are closely related: the type, I. ericetorum (L.) Zahlbr., which is widespread in Eurasia and North America, I. aversa (Nyl.) Rambold & Hertel from Central and South America, and I. japonica (Zahlbr.) Rambold & Hertel, which is restricted to Far East Russia and Japan. The genus Knightiella Müll. Arg. is reinstated to accommodate I. splachnirima (Hook.f. & Taylor) D. J. Galloway emend. L. Ludw., which occurs in New Zealand and Australia. Two further species of Knightiella, K. eucalypti (Kantvilas) Kantvilas and K. queenslandica Kantvilas, are found to be unrelated to K. splachnirima, and are accommodated in two newly described genera, Knightiellastrum and Siphulopsis respectively. Knightiellastrum L. Ludw. & Kantvilas is characterized by a squamulose, erhizinate, whitish to pale grey thallus with a green, coccoid photobiont and by containing thamnolic acid. Siphulopsis Kantvilas & A. R. Nilsen is similarly characterized by an erhizinate, whitish to pale grey thallus, with a green, coccoid photobiont and containing thamnolic acid, but is instead fruticose. This study reveals considerable diversity within Australasian Icmadophilaceae; ongoing work in the Southern Hemisphere and tropical regions may reveal additional species in this family and clarify the relationships of these newly described genera.

Cu-bearing elbaite from Paraíba (Brazil) is a highly-prized gem tourmaline. Specimens of similar quality from localities in Mozambique and Nigeria are being sold, and reliable provenance tools are required to distinguish specimens from the original locality from ‘Paraíba-type’ tourmaline from Africa. Here we present Li and B isotope analyses of Cu-bearing elbaite from all three localities and demonstrate the suitability of these isotope systems as a provenance tool. Isotopic profiles across chemically zoned grains revealed homogenous B and Li isotopic compositions, demonstrating a strong advantage of their application as a provenance tool as opposed to major, minor or trace element signatures.

Li and B isotopes of all investigated samples of Cu-bearing elbaites from the three localities are within the range of previously published granitic and pegmatitic tourmaline. Anomalous isotope compositions published previously for these samples are corrected by our results.

In the present study, we characterized the mating-type locus of Knightiella splachnirima (Icmadophilaceae) using degenerate and inverse PCR techniques. We screened for the presence of both mating-type locus idiomorphs in DNA extracts of minuscule samples of haploid thalline tissue. We found that only one of the two idiomorphs was present in each sample, and the mating-type ratio (MAT1-1:MAT1-2) was very balanced, being 8:10 and 13:14 at local and global scales, respectively. This indicates that the species is probably self-incompatible and requires the presence of compatible mating partners for sexual reproduction (heterothallic mating system). Furthermore, we provide a mating-type screening protocol with K. splachnirima specific mating-type locus primers, which could serve as an essential tool for the conservation management of this rare Australasian endemic.

The mid-to-late Pleistocene Devils Hole δ18O record has been extended from 60,000 to 4500 yr ago. The new δ18O time series, in conjunction with the one previously published, is shown to be a proxy of Pacific Ocean sea surface temperature (SST) off the coast of California. During marine oxygen isotope stages (MIS) 2 and 6, the Devil Hole and SST time series exhibit a steady warming that began 5000 to > 10,000 yr prior to the last and penultimate deglaciations. Several possible proximate causes for this early warming are evaluated. The magnitude of the peak δ18O or SST during the last interglacial (LIG) is significantly greater (1 per mill and 2 to 3°C, respectively) than the peak value of these parameters for the Holocene; in contrast, benthic δ18O records of ice volume show only a few tenths per mill difference in the peak value for these interglacials. Statistical analysis provides an estimate of the large shared information (variation) between the Devils Hole and Eastern Pacific SST time series from ∼ 41 to ∼ 2°N and enforces the concept of a common forcing among all of these records. The extended Devils Hole record adds to evidence of the importance of uplands bordering the eastern Pacific as a source of archives for reconstructing Pacific climate variability.

The petrographic and morphologic differences between calcite precipitated below, at, or above the present water table and uranium-series dating were used to reconstruct a chronology of water-table fluctuation for the past 120,000 yr in Browns Room, a subterranean air-filled chamber of Devils Hole fissure adjacent to the discharge area of the large Ash Meadows groundwater flow system in southern Nevada. The water table was more than 5 m above present level between about 116,000 and 53,000 yr ago, fluctuated between about +5 and +9 m during the period between about 44,000 and 20,000 yr ago, and declined rapidly from +9 to its present level during the past 20,000 yr. Because the Ash Meadows groundwater basin is greater than 12,000 km2 in extent, these documented water-table fluctuations are likely to be of regional significance. Although different in detail, water-level fluctuation recorded by Browns Room calcites generally correlate with other Great Basin proxy palcoclimatic data.

Reanalysis and additional dating of the Devils Hole δ18O paleotemperature record confirm that the last interglaciation in the Great Basin (the continental analog of marine isotopic substage 5e) lasted ∼22,000 yr, consistent with the Vostok paleotemperature record which suggests a duration of ∼19,000 yr for this event in Antarctica. The three preceding interglaciations in the Devils Hole record (analogs of marine isotopic substages 7e, 9c, and 11c) range from 20,000 to 26,000 yr in duration. A ∼20,000-yr duration for the last interglaciation is consistent with TIMS uranium-series dated sea-level high stands. Thus, the widely held view that interglaciations were of 11,000- to 13,000-yr duration and constituted only about 10% of mid-to-late Pleistocene climatic cycles needs reexamination. The warmest portion of each interglaciation in the Devils Hole time series is marked by a δ18O plateau, signifying apparent climatic stability for periods of 10,000- to 15,000-yr duration.

By definition, monozygotic (MZ) twins carry an identical set of genetic information. The observation of early post-twinning mutational events was shown to cause phenotypic discordance among MZ twin pairs. These mutational events comprise genomic alterations at different scales, ranging from single nucleotide changes to larger copy-number variations (CNVs) of varying sizes, as well as epigenetic changes. Here, we performed whole-exome sequencing (WES) in nine discordant MZ twins to identify somatic mutational events in the affected twin that might exert a dominant negative effect. Five of these MZ twin pairs were discordant for congenital heart defects (CHD), two for endocrine disorders, one for omphalocele, and one for congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH). Analysis of WES data from all nine MZ twin pairs using the de novo probability tool DeNovoGear detected only one apparent de novo variation in TMPRSS13 in one of the CHD-affected twins. Analysis of WES data from all nine MZ twin pairs by using standard filter criteria without the de novo probability tool DeNovoGear revealed a total of 6,657 variations in which both the twin pairs differed. After filtering for variations only present in the affected twins and absent in in-house controls, 722 variations remained. Visual inspection for read quality decreased this number to 12, present only in the affected twin. However, Sanger sequencing of the overall 13 variations failed to confirm the variation in the affected twin. These results suggest that somatic mutational events in coding regions do not seem to play a major role in the phenotypic expression of MZ discordant twin pairs.

We describe an outbreak of simultaneous Clostridium difficile and norovirus infections in a long-term-care facility. Thirty patients experienced acute gastroenteritis, and four had co-infection with identical C. difficile 027 and genotype II.4 New Orleans norovirus strains. Co-occurring infection requires improved understanding of risk factors, clinical impact, and testing strategies.

For two-dimensional, creeping flow in a half-plane, we consider the singularity that arises at an abrupt transition in permeability from zero to a finite value along the wall, where the pressure is coupled to the seepage flux by Darcy’s law. This problem represents the junction between the impermeable wall of the inflow section and the porous membrane further downstream in a spiral-wound desalination module. On a macroscopic, outer length scale the singularity appears like a jump discontinuity in normal velocity, characterized by a non-integrable $1/ r$ divergence of the pressure. This far-field solution is imposed as the boundary condition along a semicircular arc of dimensionless radius 30 (referred to the microscopic, inner length scale). A preliminary numerical solution (using a least-squares variant of the method of fundamental solutions) indicates a continuous normal velocity along the wall coupled with a weaker $1/ \sqrt{r} $ singularity in the pressure. However, inconsistencies in the numerically imposed outer boundary condition indicate a very slow radial decay. We undertake asymptotic analysis to: (i) understand the radial decay behaviour; and (ii) find a more accurate far-field solution to impose as the outer boundary condition. Similarity solutions (involving a stream function that varies like some power of $r$) are insufficient to satisfy all boundary conditions along the wall, so we generalize these by introducing linear and quadratic terms in $\log r$. By iterating on the wall boundary conditions (analogous to the method of reflections), the outer asymptotic series is developed through second order. We then use a hybrid computational scheme in which the numerics are iteratively patched to the outer asymptotics, thereby determining two free coefficients in the latter. We also derive an inner asymptotic series and fit its free coefficient to the numerics at $r= 0. 01$. This enables evaluation of the singular flow field in the limit as $r\ensuremath{\rightarrow} 0$. Finally, a uniformly valid fit is obtained with analytical formulas. The singular flow field for a solid–porous abutment and the general Stokes flow solutions obtained in the asymptotic analysis are programmed in Fortran for future use as local basis functions in computational schemes. Numerics are required for the intermediate-$r$ regime because the inner and outer asymptotic expansions do not extend far enough toward each other to enable rigorous asymptotic matching. The logarithmic correction terms explain why the leading far-field solution (used in the preliminary numerics) was insufficient even at very large distances.